Why do people Lirk?

[MsNadi]

Seriously - I'm wondering, why? I can understand lurking on things that require money or serious amounts of information in order to register.

But in general - I don't get lurking. Why do people do it? Is it like going to a first dance - and not wanting to be the one to make a fool of one's self (so instead everyone posts up on the sidelines until the parties over)? Is it because people honestly feel they have nothing to ad? HAHA...I hope this isn't the case, cuz lord knows I don't anything more than the next guy - but I'm not afraid to ad my $.02.

If anything you think the internet would bring the inner extroverts in people because there's no linking YOU to the internet YOU (well...web cams and ip telephony and all the other stuff notwithstanding). But it seems like the advent and explosion of blogs and message boards has also exposed the closet introverts in many of us.... otherwise known as

LURKERS.

[MsNadi]

Where's this coming from? My blog stats. My partner and I started our blog to serve as a chronicle of our experiences. And come to find out, a handful more people read it than I thought (haha, more than 3...WOOHOO!). And I'm wondering what causes the 3 who leave comments to do so but the 100+ who don't, to not leave comments.

Is it the content of a site that leads to lurkers?
Is it the pysical site appearnace or organization that leads to lurkers?
Or is it something that can not be explained? Like some marketing successes.

Because when you really think about it - especially those of you who are trying to create message boards and blogs for money - THIS is the hurdle that many of you face. Turning lurkers into actors. Getting those who "peruse" and "browse" to partake.

[tekmoney]

Are you sure you don't mean "lurk" ers?

Most internet activity is browsing. Being active on a site (comments, posts, voting) etc, take some more work than simply scanning across a site and gathering information in your head.

[MsNadi]

Are you sure you don't mean "lurk" ers?

Most internet activity is browsing. Being active on a site (comments, posts, voting) etc, take some more work than simply scanning across a site and gathering information in your head.

errrrg....yea, LURK not lirk.

Although the shit sure does irk.

You're right - browsing is the essence of internet activity. Mostly because at its foundation and since conception, the internet has been a largely passive media (until recently). Media in and of itself is passive - you don't interact with the television, radio, movie screen, newspaper etc. However, the internet is also one of the first interactive forms of media - giving users the ability to shape their experience or effect the content that they are browsing (i.e. the social networking phenomenon, wiki's).

Maybe that is the answer - that although the internet is more interactive than other forms of media, the internet is still MEDIA, and media, by definition is a passive experience.

[TheIdeaMan]

they lurk because they are lazy, and they don't really get anything out of it.

Sometimes I don't comment for the simple fact that I'm sitting in a comfertable position and to type I would have to site up straight. LOL

If you want people to post on your blog, make it more interactive and make it so that they get something out of it. And also the more traffic you get, the more comments you get ; )

Most of the people out in internet world only listen to one radio station: WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) And this applies to everything, including commenting on blogs.

-Chad

[akula]

theideaman's right

sometimes it's just too comfortable...

[nado]

Without looking in extensive academic studies about lurking... I would agree with Tim (think that's right), Chad and Daniel, and say it's just standard human behaviour.

Perhaps if you want feedback from your readers as to whether they like the post or not, maybe add a quick voting or star system in each post... so they can quickly give the post a rating and with that you can guage what your readers want more of and what they want less of.

But yeah, blog comment rates are pretty much the same as your standard CTRs.

cheers
nathan

[Deejay]

I (F360) lurk here, but don't post much anymore. The admins don't want me here, so I don't feel there is a need to contribute to their forum anymore.

Other forums I lurk on because I prefer reading, than typing. And also alot of threads are answered in the first post, and the next 10/20 posts just repeat the first post....so I see no need to post

[akula]

funny, the admins have probably had enough of me also :-)